Principal Investigator: Dr Louise Millard

1a: Typically, analyses of the association of physical activity with other traits have used a derived variable to represent the activity of individuals, such as moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and average counts per minute (CPM). There is likely to be much additional information in the accelerometer data, from which these measures are derived, which is not captured in these derived variables.

We aim to use data mining methods to identify potentially interesting patterns in the accelerometer data, and then identify associations of these patterns with other traits. As use of the raw accelerometer data is not commonplace in epidemiological analysis, an important part of this project is the identification and development of appropriate methods for this purpose.

1b: Physical activity is associated with a wide range of traits and diseases. This project aims to improve understanding of the relationship between particular types of physical activity and other traits, by identifying and investigating patterns within the raw accelerometer data.

It is important to identify patterns of activity associated with other traits in order to inform policy on the types of activity associated (perhaps causally) with other traits and diseases.

1c: This project will have two stages. The first stage will involve using machine learning methods to identify patterns in the accelerometer data. The second stage will test the association of the frequency of these patterns in participant’s accelerometer data with other traits.